Mercury in Morelet's crocodile eggs from northern Belize.

Recent studies have examined mercury accumulation in crocodilians. However, though most researchers have focused on tissue concentrations, few have examined mercury levels in crocodilian eggs. In July 1995, we analyzed mercury in 31 nonviable Morelet's crocodile ( Crocodylus moreletii) eggs collected from eight nests across three localities in northern Belize.

Tetraparesis in a cat with fibrocartilaginous emboli.

An 8-year-old cat, with a history of ataxia that progressed to tetraparesis over a 5-day period, was evaluated. A lesion was localized to the sixth cervical (C6) to second thoracic (T2) spinal cord segments based on physical and neurological examination findings. Blood work was unremarkable, as was survey radiography of the thoracic and abdominal cavities.

Bacterial meningoencephalomyelitis in dogs: a retrospective study of 23 cases (1990-1999).

The clinical records of 23 dogs (1990-1999) with histopathologically confirmed bacterial meningoencephalomyelitis were evaluated retrospectively. No breed, age, sex, or weight predisposition was found. All the dogs presented with clinical signs of a brain lesion, whereas 5 of 23 had neck pain.

The prognostic value of the modified Glasgow Coma Scale in head trauma in dogs.

A clinical coma scale modified from the Glasgow Coma Scale used for humans has been suggested as a useful predictor of outcome in the head trauma patient. The objective of this study was to correlate the modified Glasgow Coma Scale (MGCS) score of dogs with head trauma with their probability of survival. Thirty-eight dogs with head trauma were selected and retrospectively evaluated.

Neurologic conditions causing lameness in companion animals.

Animals presented with non-weight-bearing lameness are a diagnostic challenge for the veterinarian. It is extremely important to distinguish between orthopedic and neurologic causes of lameness, because the diagnostic and therapeutic plans can be quite different. Myopathies can be confused with orthopedic disease because of gait abnormalities and associated muscle pain.

Neuromuscular complications in endocrine and metabolic disorders.

Many of the endocrine and metabolic myopathies have no unique features, and for most clinicians, it is not possible to remember the clinical nuances of all the specific abnormalities and deficiencies responsible for these myopathies. This can make this group of diseases difficult to suspect. It is more important to recognize the general features of myopathic disease and to consider muscle biopsies as a preliminary diagnostic technique, with the potential for further investigation if a myopathy is confirmed.

Comparison of fine-needle aspiration and surgical-tissue biopsy in the diagnosis of canine brain tumors.

Objective: To compare the diagnoses obtained using fine-needle aspiration (FNA) and surgical-tissue biopsy of focal cerebral masses with the histologic diagnoses obtained via necropsy.

Study Design: A prospective case series.

Sample Population: Ten client-owned adult dogs of various breeds.

Magnetic resonance imaging of cerebral cortical necrosis (polioencephalomalacia) in a dog.

A 3-year-old neutered female mixed breed dog was examined because of severe, generalized seizure activity, tetraparesis, and encephalopathic signs. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) evaluation was unremarkable except for a mild increase in protein. Serum and CSF titers for infectious diseases were negative.

Ticks from a Morelet's crocodile in Belize.

Parasitism of crocodilians by ticks has rarely been reported, and to our knowledge only seven published accounts exist. On 3 July 1999, we collected four ticks from a subadult Morelet's crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii) captured in northern Belize. These were identified as Amblyomma dissimile (one female), and Amblyomma sp.

Scooter injuries in children.

Objective: To describe a series of nonmotorized scooter-related injuries to children to increase public awareness and encourage prevention of such injuries.

Design: A descriptive study of a consecutive series of patients.

Setting: The pediatric emergency service of a municipal hospital.

Principles in practice: reflections on a 'postpositivist' approach to evaluation research.

User participation is currently seen as an ethically appropriate way to proceed when researching disadvantaged groups and it is encouraged by funding agencies. However, the literature rarely discusses the methodological and practical implications for researchers attempting to incorporate user participation into evaluation studies which are informed from an epistemologically opposed (positivist) research paradigm. The paper explores this issue by drawing on the evaluation of a community-based smoking intervention to describe and reflect upon the recruitment, training and employment of local residents as survey interviewers.

DDE in eggs of two crocodile species from Belize.

Organochlorine (OC) residues were recently detected in nonviable Morelet's crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii) eggs from northern Belize. To further the assessment of contaminant exposure in Belizean crocodiles, nonviable Morelet's crocodile eggs (n = 11) from southern Belize and American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) eggs (n = 12) from the coastal zones of Belize were screened for 20 OCs. Results indicated p,p-DDE to be the most prevalent OC (96% occurrence) in eggs examined, with concentrations ranging from 5 to 372 ng/g.

Comparison of plasma benzodiazepine concentrations following intranasal and intravenous administration of diazepam to dogs.

Objective: To determine whether plasma concentrations of benzodiazepines (BDZ) in dogs following intranasal (IN) administration of diazepam are comparable to concentrations following IV administration.

Animals: 6 (4 male, 2 female) healthy adult Greyhounds.

Procedure: Dogs were randomly assigned to 2 groups of 3 dogs in a crossover design.

Smokers at risk: implications of an institutionally bordered risk-reduced environment.

The paper draws on an evaluation of a workplace smoking policy implemented at Edinburgh University to examine some implications for smokers at work. While the objective of institutional risk-reduced environments is to diminish or control the level of risk behaviour within, they may have unanticipated implications for participants who are unwilling or unable to adapt. Data presented in the paper suggest that the University smoking policy carried its own risk.

Falcaustra kutcheri n. sP. (nematoda: kathlaniidae) from Geoemyda yuwonoi (testudines: emydidae) from Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Falcaustra kutcheri n. sp. (Nematoda: Kathlaniidae) from feces of the turtle Geoemyda yuwonoi is described and illustrated.

Electrodiagnostic evaluation of peripheral nerve function in rheas and barred owls.

Objective: To establish reference values for electrodiagnostic evaluation of peripheral nerve function in birds.

Animals: 6 rheas and 6 barred owls.

Procedure: Birds were anesthetized with propofol or isoflurane in oxygen.

Organochlorine contaminants in Morelet's crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii) eggs from Belize.

Non-viable eggs of Morelet's crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii) were collected from Gold Button (GBL) and New River lagoons (NRL) in northern Belize and screened for organochlorine (OC) compounds using gas chromatography (GC) with electron capture detection (ECD). All egg samples from both lagoons (n = 24) tested positive for one or more OCs. Primary contaminants were p,p-DDE and methoxychlor, detected in 100% and 29% of the eggs examined, respectively.

Vertebral physitis with epiphyseal sequestration and a portosystemic shunt in a Pekingese dog.

Vertebral physitis with bone sequestration and a portosystemic shunt were diagnosed in an 18-month-old female Pekingese dog. The latter was determined by the presence of low blood urea nitrogen, elevated serum bile acids, microhepatica and an increased portosystemic shunt fraction. It was managed with a home-cooked low protein diet.

Possible intraspinal metastasis of a canine spinal cord nephroblastoma.

A 2-year-old Basset Hound was admitted to the University of Florida Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital with progressive spastic paraparesis. At necropsy, intradural extramedullary tumors produced areas of spinal cord swelling and softening in spinal cord segments T11-T12 and L4-L6. Histologic examination of the masses revealed sheets of polygonal blastemal cells, epithelial cells forming tubules and rosettes, and embryonal glomeruloid-like structures in the thoracic mass.